The Light In The Darkness
by Exanime Draco
Summary: Light and Darkness two opposing forces in an eternal struggle to vanquish and consume each other. Yet one can't exist without the other. The claymores have been forced to live in the darkness of the world. It's up to Naruto to give them hope in a life outside the organization as unlike other shinobi Naruto has never walked in the darkness or the light. He is the light in the dark.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been wanting to branch off and write stories for a rather long time, but I've never been able to write anything. Ok well that's not exactly true. I've never been able to write anything that I thought I could possibly publish and share with the world. Sure I've written a story you all (or at least the people following me, or my story "The Chained Fox") know about, but I've written poems and a very long story that if I ever get back to working on perhaps one day I might be able to publish and share with the world. So I hope that if you have enjoyed reading my first story on this site, that you will read this one and send me reviews for each and every chapter I write for this one.**

**Disclaimer: Ugh…..I hate doing this but it's better than getting sued for what little I actually possess. Naruto, Claymoore, and anything/everything associated with them do not belong to me. The only thing that does belong to me is this story idea/plot line and any OC's or other creations I make and include in this story. Now read the story and send me a review.**

'thinking'

"speaking"

"SHOUTING"

_Flash back/recent event_

Locations

'**demon/awakened being/youma thinking**'

"**demon/awakened being/youma speaking**"

"**DEMON/AWAKENED BEING/YOUMA SHOUTING**"

Prologue: The Cycle is Broken

'So, it's finally come down to this huh? Somehow I knew this would be the way things were going to turn out.' This was the thought going through the mind of a young long white haired man in his early twenties as he stood at the mouth of cave. A gentle breeze tasseled the two long bangs that framed either side of his whiskered face, as it wound it's way through the maze of white spikes on his head. The young man just closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of peace that it brought to him, and for a few moments he felt that he was truly at peace in a perfect world. The faint sound of a distant explosion brought him back to reality… Ok so maybe it didn't but the ever subtle and considerate voice of the young man's ever present companion did so in a peaceful and…"**WAKE UP KIT!**"….responsible…manner.

The young man opened his eyes revealing a pair of sky blue orb's that radiated slight irritation. "Damn it Kurama! I already understand the situation can you just give me a minute!?"

"**You've been standing there for five already kit.**"

One Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze blinked in confusion; he could have sworn it had only been a few seconds. Naruto scratched the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face.

"Sorry Kurama. I just."

"**I know your nervous kit but right now we need to focus on the current goal**"

Naruto nodded to himself though his tenant knew he had. He understood his friend's concerns, after all the two of them were going after Obito without back up. Everyone else who had accompanied them was currently engaged with the hordes of Zetsu clones and the few rogue or allied enemy shinobi supporting Obito. As Naruto headed into the cave for his confrontation with Obito he thought back on the events which had led to this final conflict.

_It had been him, Killer Bee, Kakashi-Sensei, and Bushier Bushy Brows-Sensei both of who were exhausted against Obito and Madarra Uchiha. It wasn't long before the two summoned the Gedo Mazou and merged the collected bijju chakra to form the Jubbi, or at least they attempted to. When the Gedo Mazou had been infused with the collective chakra of the bijju something went wrong. The Gedo Mazou started making the most horrible screams and lashed out at everything nearby. The expressions on both Obito and Madarra's faces clearly stated that this wasn't supposed to be happening. Obito somehow managed to bring the Gedo Mazou back under control but not without suffering a setback. In the chaos the creature had somehow managed to use the collected yoki in its body to destroy Madarra's edo tensei form causing him to return to the grave. With the odds against him Obito had turned tail and run, granting the shinobi alliance victory that day._

_Naruto still didn't truly understand what had caused the failure to form the Jubbi. Kurama however, had come up with two plausible theories to explain the event. The first was that it was because there hadn't been enough chakra from him and his brother the hachibi which was possible. The second however he believed was more likely the case that being the jubbi needed the intelligent essence or soul for lack of a better term from each of the nine bijju to be reborn. If that were the case than Obito had already lost since half of Kurama's soul was trapped within the Shinigami._

_Unfortunately the alliance later learned of what Orochimaru had done to bring back the previous hokages, before he, Sasuke, and the remaining members of Taki fled to parts unknown. The result had been the unintentional restoration of Kurama's full power which caused more problems than just restoring Obito's hopes to revive the jubbi. The extra chakra Kurama had regained almost killed Naruto when it forced its way into the seal to rejoin its other half. It was only thanks to the efforts of Tsunade and Kurama that the former blonde hadn't died. When Naruto had woken up in the hospital about two weeks later, he discovered a great deal had changed. He'd grown to a height of six feet while his body had become more muscular and toned reminding him a little bit of the physical condition Zabuza had possessed in life. His sense of smell and hearing had also become heightened, though the most noticeable change had been his hair. Not only had it grown out to reach the middle of his back, but it had become a mixture of silver and white depending on the lighting._

_Initially he'd flipped out after seeing the changes weren't from a genjutsu. After a brief panic attack which was ended violently by Tsunade after the use of the words "old" and "hag" in some context he could no longer remember probably as a result of the beating which then followed it. While Tsunade could provide a logical explanation for most of his changes she could only speculate that Kurama's restored chakra might have caused him to age in certain ways as a result of being within the Shinigami. It was Kurama who explained the real reason for the change in hair color. As it turned out while using or containing yoki in their body made a person more powerful it also caused them to stand out. Over time the body would adapt in order to survive the youki's toxic nature; however the body could only adapt so far. Whenever the one tailed chakra form was used the body went into over drive causing cells to rapidly die and be just as quickly replaced. This most often became visibly noticeable by hair color as they were generally the first cells to go. Before anyone could point out the obvious flaws in that explanation the bijju had been quick to point out that it would take years for the yoki to reach the extent Naruto had, and given the former treatment of jinchurikki it wasn't suprising that such changes weren't noticed._

_The reason for this was because of the unexpected restoration of Kurama's lost chakra, which had caused his chakra to react violently sending Naruto's body into a state of cellular over drive. Of greater importance however, was Naruto's once again abysmal chakra control. With this sudden and massive addition to his chakra reserves the former blonde was once again at the same level he been in the academy when it came to control._

_Fortunately Obito had gone deep into hiding while he regrouped, and although the alliance searched high and low for him the Uchiha still vanished without a trace. Naruto was given this time of peace to train until he had reached his previous level, though he didn't end just there. With the abundance of teachers available to him the young Uzumaki was able to learn a great deal. The areas that he excelled in above all others however were fuinjutsu and surprisingly enough kenjutsu though it was more by personal choice. Naruto shivered slightly as he remembered the look Mei Terumi had given him after learning about his interest in learning how to use a blade. It was one you would expect to have seen on a predator about to sink its claws or teeth into the latest meal. After that every time they met she became more and more….friendly._

"**Kit just admit it already if Tsunade hadn't been there when that lovely vixen offered to 'train' you back at Kiri you'd have really made her a grandma.**"

"That's not funny Kurama it wasn't my fault I wasn't picking up on her hints. I never had any intentions of doing anything with the woman outside of training."

"**After the beating she gave you I'll be amazed if you ever do anything with a woman outside of training.**"

Naruto shivered once more as he remembered the partial beating his surrogate grandmother had given him after 'kindly' showing the Mizukage out of the Namikaze estate. It had only been a partial beating since he'd honestly admitted nothing had happened and was only looking to train in kenjutsu, and Tsunade hoped it would get through his thick head better than explaining Mei's actual intentions. After his recovery Tsunade had set him up with a proper kenjutsu instructor which quickly became two.

"**Honestly those two seem perfect for one another. You humans and your foolish morals.**"

Naruto's face burst into a giant grin. 'Yeah the two of them seemed to become rather taken with each other didn't they?' It had been Yugao and Mifune who took it upon themselves to teach him swordsmanship. Killer Bee had offered to teach him how to fight with nine swords, however, Naruto learned the hard way rather quickly that he lacked the co-ordination for that. After that disaster with the guidance of Yugao and Mifune, Naruto ended up taking to his lessons in kenjutsu like a fish to water. The only problem that had really occurred with his training had been learning to coat his blade with chakra. It wasn't that he couldn't do it, rather it was more of a case he did it a little too well. Naruto had learned to control his chakra as best he could but he still used too much. As a result coating his blade in chakra ended up breaking the blade instead of giving it a razor edge. It was for that same reason however, that he received one of the most treasured gifts he could have ever asked for. When his kenjutsu training had been deemed complete, Mifune had presented him with one of the finest blades he'd ever seen.

The blade was the same length and width as the one Zabuza had used. Unlike the former swordsmen of the mists weapon however, this one was double edged and ended in a point. Additionally along the side the image of a red nine tailed fox could be seen on the silver colored blade. Its face at the tip open in a defiant roar and body ready to strike. The guard was designed to look like a set of tails coming from the fox as was the handle and pommel. Needless to say Kurama approved saying he wouldn't have his container using any other inferior weapon. Naruto had just laughed telling his teachers they'd stroked the bijju's ego. It was at that point Mifune had told the former blonde that this gift had been made from a very rare metal with some rather unique properties chiefly among them being virtually indestructible once forged. That had been the greatest benefit to his training as most of his regular shinobi equipment couldn't be used with the new jutsu he'd learned without breaking.

Naruto had been able to continue training over the course of five long years waiting for the inevitable fighting to begin once more. The shinobi alliance eventually discovered Obito's hideout, but not before the twisted Uchiha had managed to capture Killer Bee. That had been over a week ago and by now the hachibi Jinchurikki was probably beyond any form of rescue. The alliance was now in a rather desparate situation as with an almost limitless supply of chakra at his disposal, Obito had been making Zetsus by the hundreds. While they weren't overly powerful the Zetsus made up for their quality with quantity. And so now here Naruto was to finish the battle he and Obito had started so long ago.

Naruto was pulled from his memories by a glow coming from the tunnel exit. This was it, the final battle which would determine the outcome of the war. Today win or lose, Naruto planned on giving everything he had in this fight to his dying breath, because today this war would end one way or another.

"Kurama, it's time to finally bring about the end to this cycle of hatred."

Naruto may not have been in his mindscape to see it, but he knew the bijju was smiling.

"**Let's finally put the sacrifices made by everyone to good use.**"

The young man smiled a bitter smile as he made his way into the large cavern. The corpse of Killer Bee was leaning against the far wall of the cavern; Naruto however only noted it in passing as he gave all his focus to the only living man in the room. Obito stood in front of the gedo mazou garbed in the same clothes he'd worn during their first battle once more armed with Madarra's war fan.

"It seems you've changed remarkably in the past five years Naruto."

Indeed Naruto had changed over the course of those five years and not just physically. The last jinchurikki was wearing cargo pants with a number of pockets and combat boots. His shirt was a sleevless muscle shirt which he wore a new sage coat over. The sage coat unlike his previous which had been read with white flames was white with orange flames and the Uzumaki clan symbol proudly displayed on the back. What was truly unique about his change of clothing however was that it was all white with the exception of the flames and spiral. Over the years as Naruto had become more skilled in kenjutsu he changed his outfit as a testament to his skill. It also worked as a method of intimidation for his enemies, as he cut them down by the dozens spreading their blood everywhere without a drop touching him.

Naruto fixed Obito with a cold lifeless stare. The nuke-nin felt as though the jinchurikki's eyes were peering into his very soul. For the first time since he had gone rogue Obito felt somewhat nervous though he ignored it. He was prepared for this encounter after all. After what felt like hours but was in reality only seconds the silence that had fallen across the cavern was broken by Naruto.

"And it seems your still the same twisted psychopath from five years ago Obito."

Obito didn't react to the comment as he'd heard it plenty of times before. Sighing Obito glanced at Naruto asking him if he'd just be willing to surrender. Naruto's response was to release his sword from a storage seal on his wrist before getting into a ready stance, causing Obito to narrow his eyes in frustration.

"It would seem then that we have nothing left to discuss. So be it."

And with that the two shinobi launched themselves at one another and one of the greatest clashes of wills began.

A few miles from Naruto

Kakashi was not having a good day. The shinobi alliance had declared an all-out assault on Obito's headquarters the only problem had been the sheer number of them. As a result the alliance had been spread thin trying to confirm Obito's location. This had left them unprepared for the sheer number of Zetsu clones inhabiting each base. He was currently engaged by a pair of Zetsu clones preventing him from going to aid his former sensei's son. Shortly after reaching the location designated to his squad, Naruto and the kyubbi had confirmed Obito was here from the presence of yoki. Which was when the Zetsu tried to swarm them. Naruto had taken the opportunity to race ahead and prevent Obito's escape. Much to the copy-nins horror however, he'd noticed that the Zetsu clones made little effort to chase after the kyubbi jinchurikki which could only mean one thing.

"Yeah Obito's been expecting him." One Zetsu spoke enjoying the horrified expression taking place on Kakashi's face. Unfortunately the lack of focus cost him as Mito Gai came flying out of nowhere snapping Zetsu's neck with a devastating kick. Kakashi used the distraction to take out the second Zetsu with a fire ball before taking off after Naruto. Mito Gai was quick to follow his eternal rival making sure to contact HQ with Obito's location. As the two shinobi raced through the tree tops they could only hope they weren't too late.

Obito's Hideout

Naruto ducked under a strike from the war fan launching a counter thrust towards Obito's mid-section. The Uchiha leaped backward going into a spin with the fan. Obito landed simultaneously completing the one handed seals for his grand fire ball technique. The resulting gust of wind which formed fueled the grand fire ball to massive proportions. Naruto was barely able to save himself by substituting himself with a nearby chair at the last second. The resulting explosion created an effective smokescreen that Naruto quickly rushed to take advantage of. Obito's face took on expression of stunned disbelief when Naruto burst out of the smoke to his left blade ready to strike and to close to dodge. Naruto knew this would be the final blow and that it would hit since Obito had wasted his Kamui three minutes ago and wouldn't be able to use it again for another two. And that was two minutes the Uchiha didn't have or so he thought.

Naruto's momentum suddenly vanished, his body seemingly frozen in place with only an inch separating his blade from Obito's throat. Obito himself was currently grinning like a mad man as he stood there laughing at the kyubbi jinchurikki. Gathering himself for the task at hand the Uchiha walked to the side of his fallen opponent as he began to draw a complex sealing array.

"You're wondering what's going on right now aren't you Naruto?"

The former blonde tried to voice a response but found his paralysis prevented him from speaking as well. By now the smoke had dissipated from the room and it was then that Naruto saw the seal array he'd run into. Obito finished creating his seal array and had begun going through hand signs at a leisurely pace. He was already risking a lot with this extraction technique as while it could be done with just one person doing so took a tremendous amount of effort. Meaning there was no sense in messing it up and having to start it all over. Naruto on the other hand was about to flare Kurama's yoki when a sinister chuckle from Obito stopped him.

"Go ahead and use the kyubbi's chakra so you can end your suffering that much quicker."

Naruto's eyes widened in realization as his predicament had just gone from bad to worse.

"I see you've been studying fuinjutsu since you seem to have figured it out. It's true the seal array you're in cause's paralysis, but as you can see I've modified this one to work off of your chakra. So the harder you resist the stronger that seal becomes." Obito's grin widened as watched Naruto try and fail to briefly cut the flow of chakra through his body.

"I planned for that too as the seal also draws chakra from your body like a leech preventing you from escaping. While that's happening I'll also be pulling the kyubbi's chakra from you while this second seal will capture the kyubbi's chakra from the seal you're stuck in. Just face it you've lost, so just admit defeat and use the kyubbi's chakra."

Mentally the Uchiha was praising himself on his victory. All he needed to do after this was bring Madarra back which was easy enough to do. Absolutely nothing could go wrong now. And that's when all hell broke loose. Obito felt an increase in the jinchurikki's chakra drain which in and of itself was confusing. From the information acquired on the kyubbi jinchurikki's exploits giving up was something he'd never do. Looking up Obito Uchiha saw Naruto was using his chakra in order to…smile? It was then that Obito heard two things which brought his worst fears to reality. The first was a high pitched metallic scraping sound made by a pair of thrown rasenshuriken striking the gedo mazou. While the second consisted of the final words of one Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze.

"I…..Win"

Two miles from Obito's hideout

Kakashi and Gai had quickly been joined by Tsunade and the raikage A with the aid of Mabui's transportation jutsu, as they progressed towards Naruto. By the time they were three miles out their numbers had gone from four to eight and were continuing to grow. Tsunade he to be forcibly held back by the raikage to prevent her from exhausting herself in a desparate rush to aid the young man she cared so much about. The rokudaime hokage was forced to rely on desperate prayers that some deity would keep anything bad from happening to him. The sudden ear shattering explosion which occurred from Naruto's location however, shattered any further belief she held for any deity in addition to any restraint she may have had left if her blurring past the raikage was anything to go by.

Obito's hideout

The hideout or rather the massive rubble filled crater that was left of it showed no signs of life, aside from the excavation efforts of one Tsunade Senju. That was the sight the growing number of shinobi were greeted with as they arrived at the battleground. A number of the shinobi immediately began to aid with the frenzied efforts of the hokage while Kakashi and Gai had to literally drag Tsunade away so she wouldn't die from chakra exhaustion. Even then the woman still took a stone with her in torn bloody hands. The progress of the excavation was pitiful even with the aid of doton users shifting rubble safely to prevent a collapse on the last jinchurikki. It wasn't until the arrival of the kazekage, Gaara Subaku that things went much quicker. With his sand Gaara was able to safely grind down the rubble without risking the life of his best friend to shifting rubble.

After twenty five minutes hope of finding Naruto alive was quickly disappearing, yet Gaara, Gai, Kakashi, and Tsunade refused to believe the former blonde had moved on. It was then that the rubble began to shift ever so slightly. At first everyone who'd given up on Konoha's most unpredictable shinobi was in disbelief. They'd been excavating the battle ground for twenty five minutes and they knew that no one could have survived the explosion which caused such devestation, jinchurikki or not. It was then that the bijju once imprisoned burst free from the ruins in which they'd once been confined. It was an event which had only occurred twice before now or at least it would have been if it weren't for the fact that only eight were there, something which didn't go unnoticed by one Tsunade Senju.

Most of the shinobi didn't know how to react to the current situation. While it may not have been the jubbi it was still just as bad if not worse. Eight separate creatures to deal with at once, who also happened to be eight of the nine most powerful creatures known in the elemental nations. It also didn't help that most of the shinobi were either exhausted or wounded from previous engagements with the Zetsu hordes. Which is why in the few seconds of silent standoff between bijju and shinobi, the actions of the hokage would set the record for both the bravest act performed by a shinobi in addition to being the craziest.

"HACHIBI!"

The bijju were finally free from the confines of that damn gedo mazou. It was good to get back into the real world and stretch out. Of course the majority of them shared the unspoken opinion that it would have been better to not come face to face with the members of the shinobi alliance. They chose not to attack their hated enemy on-sight however, from the subconscious fear of being sealed once more. Gyuki could have laughed at the irony of the situation, though the odds were clearly in their favor. He was brought from his thoughts however by someone shouting his title immediately setting both sides on edge. Looking down he saw the speaker to be none other than Tsunade Senju.

"HACHIBI! WHERE IS NARUTO!?"

"**Geez woman no need to shout. I can hear you just fine.**"

The reaction from the gathered shinobi force was varied at the reaction of the hachibi. Some sweat dropped, others face faulted, and a few actually fainted from the stress. Much to the amusement of the bijju which was plain to see, at least for Shukaku if his borderline insane laughter was anything to go by.

"**And as for your question I don't know. I can't sense his chakra with all these different signatures.**"

That was all Gaara needed to hear before he continued the search for his friend. Meanwhile the bijju almost as if they were of one mind turned to stare at Shukaku.

"**What the hell are you all looking at me for?**"

Gyuki just looked at the tanuki like he was an idiot before telling him to help the kazekage as controlling sand was his area of expertise. The tanuki appeared to give the idea some thought before he started to slowly wander off while responding with a simple "Not interested". However, before said tanuki had gone more than five steps, Gyuki offered him a parting word.

"**Shukkaku you may be my brother but after everything the boy has done for us, don't think I won't hesitate to kick your miserable ass if you don't get back here.**"

Shukaku just kept going flipping his brother the bird as he enjoyed the happy thoughts going through his twisted mind. He had nothing to worry about, with his sand body he couldn't truly be beaten by his siblings since he could just acquire more sand. The only methods to actually cause him physical pain were virtually non-existant and none of his siblings possessed the means to use or knew the methods to perform them.

"**Not to mention Kyubbi's gotten his other half back from the Shinigami. I wonder how pissed he would be if he somehow found out you left him and the boy to die.**"

At this Shukaku stopped and Gyuki knew he had him hook, line, and sinker. Kurama was one of the few who did know how to really hurt him. And he could hurt him real bad.

"**Gyuki, you're an asshole**"

"**Love you too Shukaku**"

Uzugakure no Saito two weeks later

It was a sunny day in the remains of Uzu, but it wasn't a happy one. It was a day of mourning, to remember those who had fallen in battle, for those who had sacrificed their own lives for the greater good. More importantly however, it was the funeral of one Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. It had been decided that it would only be fitting to bury the last Uzumaki in his clan's ancestral homeland where it would be incredibly difficult to defile his grave. Everyone was in attendance outside of those too wounded to travel. Even the nibai, yonbi, and hachibi of the bijju had shown up for the ceremony as Tsunade gave a speech.

"We are gathered here today to remember the acts of courage, and selflessness of the many who gave their lives to prevent a darkness from spreading across the world. And while there is no such thing as a sacrifice too small to be beneath notice, there is one individual who sacrificed more than anyone here could hope to during their entire lifetime. His name was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, son of the yellow flash, yondaime hokage Minato Namikaze, and the red death, Kushina Uzumaki. He was the student of the toad sage Jiraya, and the third and final jinchurikki of the kyubbi no yoko. Like most jinchurikki he was hated for something he had no choice in and yet he didn't let that stop him."

Tsunade paused to collect herself while she held back her barely contained tears. Their efforts in the excavation had only turned up a single body belonging to Killer Bee. Aside from that only two other things had been found, the remains of the gedo mazou, and a single scratched out forehead protector once belonging to Sasuke. Naruto never took it off his person, keeping it as a reminder that he would bring Sasuke back home no matter what. And now he was gone, never to accomplish his dream of becoming hokage, something that she brought to the attention of the mourners.

"**No, Naruto may not have been able to achieve the title of kage in life, but in death he will have the satisfaction of being one. From this day forth the bijju recognize Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze as the first bijjukage.**"

The statement made by none other than the hachibi had caught many of the guests off guard. To those small few counted among Naruto's closest friends however, it was a statement which brought a measure of closure to them. They could live knowing Naruto's ultimate dream had been accomplished. As the funeral ended and the participants left at the days end, Naruto's closest friends took the time to have one last moment with the shinobi who had influenced their lives so much. As they walked away into the sunset Tsunade Senju stopped to have one last look at Naruto's tombstone. A statue of a smiling sword wielding youth atop a proud looking nine tailed fox, and Tsunade couldn't help but smile as a tear ran down her face. And as she turned to walk away back home there was only one thought going through her mind. 'I hope your happy Naruto. Where ever you are.'

Unknown wasteland

A stranger walked across the hot sand under the blazing sun. Generally travelling in a wasteland in the mid-day heat would be suicide for anyone, and certain death for someone on their own. This stranger however, appeared to be fine if not a little over heated. The individual carried a sheathed blade on their back with only the handle sticking out from beneath the large brown cloak the person wore, the hood hiding their features completely. The stranger had been here for a while lost, almost completely alone with no idea of how to get home. Right now the individual was travelling in search of some form of civilization where they might learn the way home. A sudden strong gust of wind pulled the hood from the figures head, revealing a young man with blue eyes. His white hair consisted of wild untamed spikes with a long braid in the back while his face looked it had whiskers.

As Naruto pulled the hood back up to escape the deadly heat, he caught a glimpse of smoke in the distance. Smoke meant there was fire, and in a wasteland like this fire could only mean that there were people nearby. From the look of it, if he didn't stop to wait for nightfall he could get there by evening, but Naruto didn't have much choice as his water wouldn't last till nightfall. And so Naruto strengthened his resolve as he took off towards potential civilization with chakra enhanced speed. He would find out where he was and he would get home no matter what.


	2. The man who would shake the world

**Alright time for a few brief announcements before I get started with the good stuff you all really seem to care about. Whether I get any reviews, favorites, follows, etc for this story or not I plan on continuing it. For those of you who are now worried about my first story "The Chained Fox" don't worry about it. The reason I haven't updated it recently is because I have been very busy with school work and I still am. Plus I'm currently suffering from a little bit of writers block. So I've been taking a little break from that story to work on this one, in addition to doing some research for "The Chained Fox".**

**That being said and done as some of you may have noticed this story is listed as an adventure/romance but only Naruto is listed in the pairing. I haven't exactly decided who the pairing will be with so I'm open to suggestions. So I have set up a poll with three characters who I might pair Naruto with. I will say this right now however, that this won't be a harem fic, it won't be a small group of four or three people, but just one person paired with Naruto. I will run this poll for the next update of my story "The Chained Fox" since I can't really write the next chapter of this story until I get a decision made for the pairing as depending on who it is will determine how the next chapter will turn out. I will also accept votes from my readers in the form of reviews. Write a review to each chapter telling me what you thought of it, what was confusing, what could be improved on, and what you liked, before finally giving me your vote of who the pairing should be. If I just receive reviews whether they be from guests or site members that only say who the pairing should be, than I will ignore those votes and choose for myself. Same thing goes if I don't receive at least 15 reviews telling me what you guys thought of the chapters, as getting reviews to my work makes me feel appreciated and good about myself.**

**In addition to being able to look at my inbox and not feel like I'm not just a means for people to kill some spare time with. As that's how I kinda feel after looking at my email and finding 22 new messages which consist only of people following me, a particular story, or favoriting me, or a particular story of mine and never once receiving a review from them or only getting one review from them and then nothing else for anything. I'm not saying I don't enjoy people favoriting or following me and my stories as I love knowing that people are willing to wait for the next chapter or story update. However, sending me a review to each and every chapter I write provides me with suggestions and ideas for future chapters/stories, in addition to giving me advice on what I need to work on or fix. So all I'm asking my readers is to please take a few minutes after reading my work to write a review. It's not a whole lot to ask for is it?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Naruto and/or Claymore outside of OC's, story/plot line, and any personal creations of mine. **

'thinking'

"speaking"

"SHOUTING"

_flash back/recent event_

locations

'**demon/awakened being/youma thinking**'

"**demon/awakened being/youma speaking**"

"**DEMON/AWAKENED BEING/YOUMA SHOUTING**"

_**technique/jutsu**_

Chapter 1 Where the hell am I?

Unknown Village

The day had been long and hot in the village, which resulted in the current evening temperature being rather pleasant. However, the atmosphere of the village was anything but that. There were very few people on the streets, and those who were showed clear signs of anxiety if not out right fear. As a hooded Naruto entered the village he could feel dozens of people staring at him from behind closed shutters, and through barely open doors. 'Something has got these people scared to death' he thought as another door slammed shut when he turned to gaze at his watchers. 'Any ideas what it could be old friend?'. The shinobi sighed in frustration as once again he was greeted by silence, something which unnerved him to no end.

Ever since he'd woken up in that wasteland two weeks ago he'd been alone. He'd tried speaking with Kurama to find out where they'd ended up, but the bijju refused to respond. Eventually he'd been forced to enter his mindscape, planning to give his tenant of piece of his mind. What he'd found had scared him. Instead of laying curled up asleep like he usually did, Kurama was splayed out on his side, each breath came out as a hoarse wheeze. The foxes skin clung to its body so tightly that the bones were clearly visible. What worried Naruto the most however was the empty look in his friend's eyes. It was the same look that Lee had in his eyes when Gaara beat him in the preliminaries of the chuunin exams. After seeing that he'd closed the bijju's eyes and left him alone to rest.

Breaking free from his thoughts Naruto focused on his current dilemma. Originally he'd planned to come here and acquire some information, supplies, and possibly a bed for a night or two. With the way the villagers were reacting however, it didn't seem like he was going to get any help let alone a response by knocking on doors. As Naruto continued to walk down the street he couldn't help but be reminded of the beatings the villagers gave him as a child once a year. The same feeling of fear from back then just filled the air in this place. 'The only thing missing is the armed mob of villagers, then it really would be trip down memory lane.'

It was at this point that Naruto found himself in what looked like the village square, which was lit up by the evening sun. Ignoring everything else the shinobi headed straight for the well to refill his water supply and quench his thirst. He heard them first before he actually saw them and when he did he almost laughed aloud. 'Looks like it really is a trip down memory lane after all.' The villagers had arrived in three separate mobs. Armed with farming tools and other makeshift weapons the locals quickly blocked off all the exits from the square as they boxed Naruto in. The shinobi in question subtly shift his body into a ready stance in case all hell broke loose, though he refrained from doing anything that might be considered threatening. After all he didn't know anything about these people and if things did go to hell, he wanted to have the law on his side if the local authorities came along.

For what seemed like the longest time both sides stayed put, each waiting for the opposing side to make the first move. From where Naruto stood however, it was clear as day that these people were not only scared to hell but that they had no fighting experience. If it came down to it the shinobi knew that he'd be able to cut through them with no effort what so ever, however he truly hoped things wouldn't come to that. As if some divine being had been listening in on his hopes and intervened, the tension in the atmosphere virtually vanished when an elderly looking man stepped out of what appeared to be the town hall. "What's going on here?"

A member from the mob turned to the old man as he started going into a slightly exaggerated story of the stranger entering the village and apparently poisoning the well with his demonic yoma taint. As this explanation was going on Naruto gave a small sigh of relief. Over the years of his training the young sage had developed an interest in reading. During his time in library he'd come across literature in foreign languages and had chosen to learn as many as possible given the numerous potential uses for them. While he was a little rusty, Naruto still remembered his lessons well enough to understand what was being said.

The old man turned to regard the cloaked stranger, who currently was in the process of drinking from a water skin. As the old man began to make his way through the crowd much to the villagers warnings, Naruto could swear he saw a mischievous glint briefly flicker in the old man's eyes before he stood before him. The man wasn't as old as Naruto had originally thought, probably in his late fifties or just beginning to enter his sixties. Standing at 5'4 he had brown eyes and a rough weathered looking face that showed wisdom and experience, with grey hair and a receding hair line he reminded the shinobi of Sarutobi from the aura of authority he seemed to exude.

"Its been a rather hot day if I do say so myself. Perhaps you might be willing to offer this old man a drink to quench his thirst?"

Naruto just couldn't help but break out into an amused smile though only the man speaking to him noticed. He could tell this man was probably the village leader and knew exactly what he was doing. Grinning Naruto passed him the partially filled water skin which he promptly began to drink. The cries of horror and promises of vengeance brought satisfaction to the old man's ears, while Naruto was barely able to contain his amusement at the man's well acted death throes. Before the crowd could even begin to try and rush the mayor's killer he'd popped back up to his feet as he began to yell at them. Naruto could only describe it as a mixture of laughter and a scolding for making assumptions based on fear. His rant finally done the mayor turned to regard Naruto once more as he apologized on behalf of his village.

"I don't blame them. Judgement get bad when feared."

Naruto scratched the back of his head slightly embarrassed when the mayor fixed him with a puzzled and slightly amused expression at his choice of words.

"Not tongue, little rusty." He said which received a slow nod from the mayor putting Naruto slightly on edge.

"And what makes you think these people are scared?"

Naruto just fixed him with a blank expression before he proceeded to point at the mob. "Armed mob confronting single traveller?" He said causing the old mayor to sweat drop from failing to take that fact into consideration. Coughing to cover up his embarrassment the mayor chose to quickly change the subject by asking what the stranger was doing here.

Naruto, with gradually improving English, managed to get across that he was lost and had hoped to find a map in addition to resupplying and resting for a night. At the last statement he couldn't help but see the mayor wince slightly. For a moment he was worried that he had said something wrong or unintentionally insulted someone. The Mayor on the other hand found himself caught in a difficult situation. The young man was clearly in a difficult situation and wouldn't be likely to survive the night outside the village, at least not with the unwanted guest hiding amongst the populace. Still allowing this stranger to stay in the village was just as dangerous if he turned out to be the same. With a deep sigh the mayor pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration before giving a response.

"Very well then stranger, you may spend the night with me and a few others in the town hall." The worried whispering that erupted from the assembled villagers didn't go unnoticed by the lost shinobi. However, before he could begin to ponder what that might mean he found the mayor with a hand on his left shoulder leading him to the town hall where a meal would be made for him as the populace dispersed.

Doga Town Hall later at night

Naruto was enjoying a rather entertaining conversation with the old man named Hargith who turned out to indeed be the mayor of this village which he'd called Doga. Well he was enjoying it as much as someone can while be watched by five armed men. Naruto didn't really mind too much after having spent two weeks on his own. What did bother him however was why he was being guarded. Before he could ask Hargith the reason for such measures though the man cut him off saying it was late and that he'd see him in the morning before heading to a cot in his office. His quick escape left Naruto having to wait until morning before he could hope to get some answers. With a sigh of frustration the lost shinobi made his way to one of the many pews and attempted to make himself comfortable, which turned out to be damn near impossible. He couldn't really complain however, as this was better than sleeping outside he thought to himself before he managed to fall asleep.

Doga Town Hall morning

Naruto pulled himself off the pew with an audible groan. As the former blonde stretched a little bit he heard a door open followed by some whispering. Turning around he saw one of his guards conversing with the mayor who grew a small smile at whatever the subject was. The conversation between the two came to an abrupt halt however as a sore and groaning Naruto strolled up to the mayor.

"Sleep well I take it?"

The former blonde fixed Hargith with a light glare from within the shade of his hood causing the man to laugh, before offering him breakfast. The meal consisting of eggs, vegetables (which Naruto couldn't identify), and bread was spent with good conversation which focused mainly on Naruto. While frustrating from the point of view that Hargith was preventing him from asking what he wanted to last night, he couldn't really complain after everything the man had done for him. Which admittedly had been a lot if the reaction of the villagers yesterday was anything to go by. Of course this questioning only seemed to add more problems to the shinobi's ever growing list.

As the two ate, Hargith told Naruto that while the village didn't have any maps there was a town just a few days travel from here that might have some maps for sale. It was at that point the mayor had also said the village would allow him to purchase the supplies he needed for the journey. Which had led to his current predicament.

"What do you mean its no good here!"...He had no valid currency.

Hargith just shook his head in exasperation. He knew that his young friend said he wasn't from around here, but he honestly wasn't expecting him to be from somewhere that far away. 'Using paper as currency what nonsense.' Still Hargith had to admit the concept did have some admittedly useful aspects to it, not that any of them helped this stranger right now.

"Like I just said lad. Your money is no good here. Paper holds little value to people in these parts. In fact your better off just burning it." A rather fierce glare from his hooded companion had him chuckling, partially out of amusement, and a little from nervousness. He was quick to point out however, that trying to pay for something with paper containing odd symbols and different colors was just asking for trouble. After thinking about it Naruto could understand the logic in that statement considering the greeting he'd received the day before.

The former blonde's head crashed into the table top with a groan of frustration. Now what the hell was he going to do. Sure he could just leave, odds were still pretty good that now with a direction and destination he could make the three day trip on foot through the wasteland in at most a day an a half. He was also pretty good at finding food in the woods which made that only a small issue. No, the real problem was what the hell he'd do after reaching his destination as he'd still need money to pay for certain things. The sound of wooden chair legs scrapping across the floor brought Naruto from his thoughts. Looking up he was greeted by the sight of Hargith standing up.

"Well come on then lets see what we can get you for your trip." Hargith just knew his secretary would never let him hear the end of this. But on the other hand the lad clearly needed some help and Hargith was always one to wear his heart on his sleeve. Plus there was also something about this young man, he couldn't put his finger on it but he just felt like this young Naruto would make history some day. He smiled to himself as the two left the town hall, it would be a shame if he didn't do everything in his power to help get him started.

Doga village late afternoon

It had been incredibly difficult but in the end thanks to the efforts of Hargith, Naruto had gotten most of the supplies he needed. The old mayor had earned a little respect from the shinobi. Instead of using his position in the village to just take what he needed, he simple went door to door asking for it. Even then he didn't ask for very much, if Naruto needed six carrots then Hargith would ask each household if they could possibly spare one. While it was for that reason things had taken so long, Naruto didn't really care. Hargith had known him for less than a day, yet at the drop of a hat the man had been willing to help him without second thought.

Thankfully the weather had been rather pleasant, a rather cloudy sky blocking the sun from view with a cool breeze making rain a distinct possibility later on perhaps. It was something which had people going about their business most of the day, though most of them gave him a wide berth in the street. Naruto just ignored it for the most part as he waited for Hargith to return from his last stop, though he kept thinking about their fear. Why had they needed to guard him last night? Just what exactly was going on here?

So deep in thought was he that even with his enhanced hearing he didn't notice the tightly bound leather ball streak towards him. A cry of warning came a little too late for him to do anything aside from utter a brief "Huh" as the leather bound sphere collided with his groin. The results were excruciatingly painful, and somewhat embarrassing for the shinobi. Dropping the rucksack of supplies the former blonde was quickly on his knees, one hand covering his injured groin while the other prevented him from falling on his face. Now he understood if only a little what Jiraya must have felt like after being nailed by Baa-chan. He was just glad that he hadn't released some sort of high pitched scream like his former sensei had in the past.

"Hey mister, are you ok?"

Naruto looked up to see a small group of children nearby the youngest being perhaps five years of age, while the oldest was no more than thirteen and had a rather sheepish expression on his face. Before he could even begin to compose a response, his field of vision was filled by the face of a six year old girl. Spinning around she addressed the oldest member of the group as she all but shouted at the boy. "Raki! I think you broke him!"

Wearing a simple brown dress and shoes the girl had light green eyes, a somewhat rounded face, and what could only be considered a somewhat butchered bob cut brown hair. It was also plainly obvious she had never heard of the personal space concept either as she was now poking his birth marks.

"And I think he's pretending to be a cat."

That statement had Naruto forming a sweat drop as he stood up while collecting his rucksack from the ground. The words I'm fine had barely left his mouth before the children had collected their ball and run off to continue their game, with the exception of the young teen. Walking up to Naruto the boy scratched the back of his head, the same sheepish look still on his face.

"Sorry about that. It kind of got a little out of hand."

Naruto just looked at the teen for a few seconds before a small smile graced his face. The kid was honest not to mention the responsibility he showed himself to possess. He could just tell that this kid had a great future in store for him if he kept those traits.

"Don't worry about it kid. It was an accident anyway, so no harm done." Okay so maybe the truth was a little stretched in that statement. Lots of harm had been done and it was an experience the former blonde never wanted to go through again, but that was beside the point. The teen in anycase seemed to be relieved before he seemed to realize something.

"Say, aren't you that guy the mayor rescued at the well yesterday?"

Naruto's eye seemed to involuntarily twitch ever so slightly as he heard that.

"I wouldn't say he rescued me. More like he resolved a misunderstanding."

Naruto could tell however, from the look on this kids face that he didn't believe him for a second. The boy's next question however of what Naruto was doing in Doga had the two beginning a brief conversation lasting a good couple minutes. He learned that the boy was the son of a blacksmith, though he had no formal training in the trade. As to why however, the kid didn't seem all that eager to elaborate on those particular details so Naruto decided not to pry as it wasn't really his business in any case. He did tell the boy however, the same story he'd given the mayor which wasn't really a lie when you thought about it. After all he was technically travelling not to mention he was also lost, so it wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth. Not wanting to take up the rest of the kids day however, Naruto chose to abruptly end their little chat.

"Well your friends are probably expecting you to rejoin them, so I should probably let you get back to them..." Naruto paused slightly embarrassed since he'd never actually learned the kids name. Ok technically he had heard it, but in his defense his conscious mind hadn't really registered that information. At the time it had been sorting through the searing sensation of pain which had been emanating from his groin. The boy blinked a few times before he seemed to pick up on the cloaked strangers dilemma. Smiling he offered his hand which Naruto grasped in a firm grip as he said "My name is Raki"

"Naruto"

Naruto returned a smile as he shook Raki's hand. As the boy turned and started lightly jogging back to his friends, Naruto closed his eyes in thought as a small smile graced his face. The kid would have a lot going for him in life and Naruto knew it well. And then the wind shifted and everything changed. A scent carried on the breeze had Naruto snapping his eyes open faster than a horde of angry women descending on a trapped Jiraya. The boy reeked with two different scents the first of which was something Naruto had never come across before. The second however was one which Naruto had come to know very well over the course of his life. What Naruto couldn't understand was why let alone how this kid could stink so much of blood and death. Before he could react in anyway, shape, or form however, Hargith had returned from his latest and final endeavor to see Raki leaving.

"I see you met young Raki"

Naruto switched his gaze to Doga's mayor his eyes narrowed ever so slightly in suspicion. Something which didn't go unnoticed by Hargith, though he filed that little tidbit away to tell the Claymore when she showed up.

"So it would seem"

Hargith walked up to his...friend? He'd known him for less than a day and yet something within in him called out to him, telling him that this man was his friend. And if there was one thing Hargith had learned in his youth it was to always trust your gut. He gave his new friend a small bag of dried meat before crossing his arms and casually leaning back against the side of the building behind him.

"Raki's story is a rather sad one" He paused waiting to see if Naruto would give some sort of response. When all he was met with was silence e continued.

"The boy and his older brother Zaki were the only survivors of a Yoma attack a few weeks ago."

Naruto turned to regard the old mayor, a puzzled expression on his face as he asked what the hell a Yoma was. Hargith's expression however, became one of stunned disbelief. 'Where the hell are you from to not know about Yoma?' The man quickly composed himself before he gave his friend a brief run down about Yoma.

"So let me get this straight. Your saying that Yoma are monsters that eat human flesh and hide in plain sight disguised as regular people?"

Hargith nodded though he didn't take much pride in providing his friend with this information. After all he was no expert on Yoma.

"And no one has any idea where these things came or are coming from? Only that these 'Claymores' was it? who are half human and half Yoma can detect them?"

Hargith just nodded his eyes closed and a solemn expression upon his face. "Yes, I'd imagine it has something to do with being half Yoma though I'm no expert"

Naruto turned his gaze back to Raki and the group of children he was playing with. If what Hargith said about these Yoma was true, than that boy definetly wasn't human. He smelled far too much of blood, death, not to mention Yoma if that was the unknown scent emanating from him. 'Or is he?' Over the years Naruto had finely tuned the sensing skills from his Sage teachings in the hopes of ending the war faster. The problem however had been that the majority of Obito's forces were the Zetsu clones, who were incredibly adept in hiding their chakra signature because they were sensors. So Naruto stopped trying to sense chakra and instead sense emotions.

At first he'd only been able to do so in Sage mode. Time and practice led to him being able to do so when meditating to gather nature chakra. Now however, Konoha's Toad Sage could sense emotions in a small radius around him at will though he blocked off that sense in large populated areas due to the sheer number of people and emotional states. Sensing an individuals emotions from a distance wasn't exactly fool proof, particularly if they knew how to fight or travel without feeling any emotion. Which is why Naruto was rather proud that he'd been able to become epidermically empathic. Long story short, he could literally read a person's emotions which in part let him gain a hint of their intentions through skin to skin contact. Something which Naruto had done when shaking Raki's hand.

Naruto hadn't sensed any dark emotions coming from Raki, but that didn't necessarily mean the boy was or wasn't human. After all Naruto didn't have a lot of information to base his assumptions on. Additionally he didn't know anything about these 'Yoma' creatures so he couldn't say that his empathic sensor skills told him anything. The Toad Sage of Konoha pushed these thoughts to the side for now, opting to tune back into Hargith's lecture.

"Since the death of their parent's, Raki and his brother have been living with some relatives here, hopefully with time they'll be able to escape the memories of that terrible day. Unfortunately I don't see that happening until after that Claymore we hired gets here the day after tomorrow and kills the Yoma living here"

That caught Naruto's attention immediately as he turned to regard Doga's mayor.

"You pay these Claymores to kill these Yoma?"

Hargith gave Naruto his undivided attention given the sensitive nature of the subject as he responded an expression of dead seriousness plastered across his face.

"Yes we do and while it's quite the expensive service its better than the alternatives. The Claymore shows up as soon as possible and stays until all the Yoma are eradicated. They get paid and then they leave, simple as that. Why?"

That put the nails in the coffin for Naruto, well most of the nails at least. He had no idea if these Claymores had any direct knowledge of the extortion they were participating in, or even if they were forced to, unwilling, or willingly participating in it. "Seems like a rather convenient service if you ask me" He said his voice laced with sarcasm and was rather surprised though pleasantly, to see Hargith's eyes narrow in suspicion as if he were trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. Before Naruto's friend could think further on the subject the sound of panicked shouting reached their ears.

Hargith frowned in confusion wondering the ruckus was all about.

Though it wasn't long until he got his answer in the form of a winded man in his thirties. While the man was trying to pull air into his lungs the mayor decided to ask him what the hell was going on. Naruto not being fluent in panicked foreign gibberish was forced to wait until Hargith managed to find out what was going on. At least that was what the plan had been up until the point Doga's mayor took off sprinting leaving Naruto in pursuit.

After ten minutes of nonstop running the pair eventually reached their destination which was a slightly worn down house, with a very large crowd gathered outside it. While Hargith pushed his way forward through those gathered, Naruto remained at the edge of the mob. The former blonde knew there was nothing he'd be able to help the mayor with. With his enhanced smell he could tell that the homes former occupants had been dead for hours. 'That and this mob might just as easily turn on me for being here' His thoughts were interrupted by loud shouts coming from the crowd as the mayor came out of the house. These were the voices of people filled with fear and anger over not being able to put a face to their enemy.

Hargith was in a desperate situation as he tried to calm down his people. They refused to hear him however, so full of fear and anger were they that they drowned his voice in the noise of their demands. What would he do about this? How much longer could they last? Who would be next before someone did something? These were just a few of the demands filling the air. A sudden loud and ear splitting whistle filled the air silencing all present. Almost as if they were of one mind the mob turned toward the source which was none other than the stranger or as the mayor knew him, Naruto. Before the mob could take their frustrations out on this stranger however, Hargith quickly grabbed their attention while he had the chance.

"HEAR ME PEOPLE OF DOGA! YOU NEED NOT FEAR ANY LONGER AS THE CLAYMORE WILL BE HERE THE DAY AFTER NEXT!"

A hushed murmur began to pass through the crowd as they heard the news with mixed opinions. A Claymore coming here? One of the silver eyed witches? We're saved! But how will we purchase goods from the merchants? Better poor than dead! But the Claymores are half Yoma? As this was being debated amongst the crowd Hargith gave a small sigh of relief. It pained him to see his people so terrified, even more so when there was nothing he could do for them. With nothing more he could do the mayor made his way through the crowd back to his strange young friend.

Naruto watched Hargith make his way through the slowly dispersing crowd. When the mayor had finally made it to the shinobi's side, o could see the stress and exhaustion clear as day the man was hiding. He'd originally planned on commenting about how Hargith's announcement had essentially given the Yoma a chance to escape and start over. After seeing how much of a toll this situation was taking on the man however he refrained from it. He may not have understood exactly how much this was affecting his friend, but he understood enough to know what he was going through.

"It's starting to turn into evening, Naruto"

The cloaked shinobi just nodded. He had a feeling Hargith was about to ask him to leave, though he remained silent just in the off-chance he was wrong. He owed the man a lot for what he'd done for him, particularly due to the circumstances. Something which he wouldn't forget nor allow to go unrewarded if he could help it. As the pair slowly made their way back towards the village square, Hargith continued speaking.

"For your own safety I'm going to have to ask you to leave. If you were to stay here tonight I'm afraid you might not be able to find your way home. I say this because I just get the feeling you'll try to find that Yoma if you stay."

Naruto gave a small smile. 'Old man's barely known me a day and already seems to know me like everyone back home' He didn't like the mayor's decision, but he'd follow Hargith's request just to give him peace of mind. In the rational part of his mind however, the shinobi wasn't sure that trying to take on one of these 'Yoma' was necessarily a smart idea. That had been his plan had Hargith allowed him to stay one more night in order to repay his debt. As he gave the subject further thought however, his rational mind came up with several reasons why he should just leave the 'Yoma' to the Claymores, all of which revolved the shinobi concept of information.

He knew virtually nothing about these 'Yoma' aside from eating people and disguising themselves as people. Sure he'd fought against other shinobi with unknown skill sets, hell even a demon or two and won. At those times however, he'd had three things going for him. First he'd known what the enemy looked like or had enough time to figure out who he was looking for. Second most of those fights his friends were involved in to back him up when all hell broke loose. Most importantly however, Kurama had been there to heal and strengthen him with his chakra. He didn't have any of that this time around. Lost in his thoughts, Naruto was startled to find that they'd already reached the village square. Feeling a hand on his shoulder the lost shinobi glanced at Hargith to see a sad smile on his face.

"Well lad, I wish I could have done more to help you, but there's nothing else I can do."

The man paused almost as if he was thinking of what to say next. Naruto helped however by offering his hand to the mayor of Doga. Something which Hargith was a little grateful for at the moment. Shaking his hand, Hargith looked Naruto dead in the eye, his face expressing nothing but seriousness.

"Get going lad, I mean it. Get as far away from here as possible, and don't even think to sneak back in. I'll be making sure that the gates get locked so you don't do something stupid."

Naruto nodded as he thanked Hargith for everything he'd done, before he turned his rucksack slung over his left shoulder has he left Doga.

Doga hour to sunrise

The loud cracking and popping sound of wood burning in the fireplace caused Raki to snap upright, his sleep interrupted. Not that he really minded at this moment as he pulled air into his lungs. 'Just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare' he mentally told himself. It was almost always a nightmare every night ever since his parents were killed. That scene would haunt him for the rest of his life. He'd never felt so helpless before in his life, after the incident his first thoughts had been of regret. That maybe if he'd been at home then maybe they could have fought the Yoma off and his parents would still be alive. His brother Zaki had called him an idiot and told him they would have died along with him.

Raki laid back down as he tried to fall asleep once more. Try as he did however, the boy was unable to do so as he kept remembering the details of his nightmare. Like usual it had been the same, him walking into his home to find the rooms torn apart and blood painting the walls. He'd walked into the kitchen to find the partially eaten corpses of his parents laying on the floor. Except tonight there had been something more to his nightmare. Something that had never been in his nightmare before. The Yoma had been there, it had looked right at him with its yellow black slitted eyes the shadows in the room had kept it's face hidden.

Unable to sleep Raki decided to try talking to his brother, in the hopes that it might calm him down enough to sleep. Confusion clouded his thoughts however when he rolled on his in order to face his brother's bunk, only for him not to be there. 'Maybe that's him getting breakfast ready.' He thought when he heard a rather loud snap eminate from his aunt's kitchen. His brother and relatives often took turns getting up around this time of day to prepare breakfast for everyone so it was a reasonable assumption. Rubbing his eyes Raki pulled on a shirt before slipping into his boots, not worrying about pants as he hadn't bothered changing out of the ones from yesterday. Making his way to the kitchen the boy paused as he noticed the bedroom door of his relatives was wide open.

It was something that worried him. Usually his aunt and uncle kept their room door shut, only leaving it open when both were awake and going about their daily routines. There was no reason for them to be awake if it was Zaki's turn to make breakfast. The boy slowly made his way to the kitchen doorway, as he peered around it his sense of apprehension only grew as he found no one there though a steady fire was burning. A sudden hand being placed on his shoulder had him throwing himself forward into the room while simultaneously attempting to spin and face his potential assailant. Unfortunately his foot got caught on a chair leg and he ended spinning around only to land on his backside.

Wincing slight at the pain, Raki looked up to see his older brother with an amused smile on his face. "Sorry about that Raki, but I just couldn't resist and the opportunity was too good to pass up."

Raki got his heart to stop pounding in his chest as he fixed him with a glare only an angry sibling seemed capable of giving. Zaki just chuckled to himself before he took on a serious expression.

"Why are you awake anyway Raki? There's still another hour at least for you to sleep"

"I had that nightmare again and couldn't get back to sleep. I thought maybe I could talk to you about it"

Zaki smiled as he nodded his head in understanding before offering the boy his hand. It wasn't the first time that Raki had done this before. Though as the old saying goes, there's a first time for everything and Raki's next question seemed to bring a number of first's with it. "Do you know where Aunt Jan and Uncle Tom are?" Zaki flinched though due to the low lighting Raki didn't see the reaction overly well.

"Well Aunt Jan went to get some water from the well, and Uncle Tom went to go chop some more wood for the fire. They should be back soon though, now come on let me help you up and you can go sleep for a little bit longer" There was clear tension in the older teen's voice, something which Raki picked up on. He didn't know why, but something about this whole situation felt wrong despite everything his brother said. Certainly his aunt and uncle had done this before but why would his brother be acting so tense about something like that? He'd have understood if they'd been planning to surprise him for his birthday but that wasn't for another month. And that's when he saw it, the one little detail that was out of place exposing his brother's statement for the lie it was.

With his eyes having finally adjusted to the low light being emitted from the fire place, the boy had caught the light shining from his uncle's ax blade on the opposite side of the room. Something he obviously needed if he were really out chopping wood for the fire. Raki stood up on his own, taking a few steps back away from his brother who just gave a disappointed sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"You couldn't have just listened to me and gone back to bed could you Raki?"

The boy continued to back away from Zaki, by now they were an equal distance from each other with the former being half way to the back door and possibly safety. Young Raki may have been but if something were really wrong as his instincts seemed to be screaming at him, then his best bet was to keep his older brother distracted with conversation. He didn't get the opportunity to ask where his relatives were however before he tripped on something. His confusion as to what caused his second fall was very short lived, and almost instantly replaced with sheer horror. Laying next to him on the floor were the bodies of his aunt and uncle. A large pool of blood had spread out from the gaping wounds in their abdomen, and their organs were torn apart as if something had been...feeding.

"This whole time...it's been you hasn't it? Your the Yoma everyone's been talking about aren't you?"

Zaki just gave a sadistic smile, taking a great deal of pleasure in the horrified realization spreading across Raki's face. Since his secret was now out there wasn't really any reason for him to hide his true appearance anymore. With that thought in mind Zaki began to change or transform if you prefer. His skin took on a much darker tone to the point it was bordering between a very dark purple and pitch black. His muscles became slightly larger and much more defined, something which had made most of his adult male victims believe they stood a chance at fighting him off before he ripped them apart. His facial features however took on the most profound change. His jaw and mouth seemed to grow slightly larger in addition to becoming slightly more elongated. This was in order to accommodate the serrated interlocking needle like set of teeth in his mouth.

Yet out of all these changes Raki watched his brother suddenly under go none of them captured his attention more profoundly than Zaki's eyes. Gone were the light sky blue eyes that had once belonged to his loving, good natured older brother. Now they were slightly bloodshot, their color bordering between a slightly glowing gold and a sickly yellow color which was accentuated by a slit black pupil. It was then that Raki felt truly afraid, he understood that this wasn't a bad dream he would just wake up from in the morning.

"**You know I'm disappointed that you didn't just listen like a good little brother and go back to bed. If you had I could have finished my meal at a reasonable pace. But now that my breakfast has gotten cold I suppose I should thank you for providing me a fresh meal...**"

The yoma was enjoying this little bit of verbal torture. It was quite entertaining to pick apart the minds of it's prey, and it made a mental note to do this again if it got the chance in the future. As the yoma chose to indulge itself with it's new found hobby entering into a monologue, it made a mistake that any true predator avoids at all costs. It underestimated the resolve of it's victim. While the yoma prattled on about the mayor giving it advanced warning to leave, Raki's mind was working harder than it ever had before.

Choosing to ignore the babbling yoma, Raki instead focused on what he could do to get out of this alive. 'Think Raki think! What do I need right now?' Well it was obvious that he needed a claymore now more than anything however, that didn't seem likely to happen right about now. What he needed was a weapon something, anything which he could use to defend himself with would do. Making sure not to turn his head, Raki's eyes scanned his surroundings in what seemed like a futile effort. Just as he was about to lose all hope however, a brief glint caught his eye. There on the ground just out of his current reach was one of his aunt's various cooking knives. While it wouldn't have been his first choice of weapon, given his current situation he'd take it without complaint as it improved his odds of surviving if only slightly.

Now however he was faced with another problem and little time to devise a solution. 'How do I get it?' He thought to himself over and over. While it was true he could simply reach over and pick it up, that would entail him moving. Something which the yoma was bound to notice and react to immediately. As the boy racked his mind over the solution to his problem, it seemed that fate had chosen this particular moment to intervene. As the yoma was drawing near the end of it's rant it mentioned finding another family so it could repeat the lovely experience it had with Raki's.

As the old saying goes, it was the straw that broke the camels back. The original intent had been to instill a sense of horror followed by an emotional response, and while the yoma succeeded in doing so it wasn't in the manner it wanted. Rake was indeed instilled with a sense of horror, after all who wouldn't be if they were in the exact same scenario. Instead of feeling fear however, Raki was filled with rage. The boy exploded into action, in one swift movement he was not only on his feet but rushing the yoma releasing a cry of sheer rage. While the yoma hadn't expected Raki to blindly rush it, the creature wasn't caught off guard.

As Raki swung his arm for a solid left hook he found his arm suddenly trapped in a vice like grip. While this was going on the yoma with it's free left hand had grabbed the boy by the throat lifting him into the air with a sadistic grin.

"**Now, now, little brother that wasn't very nice. I guess I'll...**"

"WELL NEITHER IS THIS!"

And with that Raki plunged the knife into the yoma's right elbow joint. During his rage induced state Raki had managed to grab the knife off the floor in his initial charge. The only reason he hadn't attacked with blade was because in his rage he truly wanted to strike something with his bare hands, though subconsciously the yoma with his brother's appearance may have also played a small part in the matter. While completely unplanned it worked in the boy's favor. The yoma hadn't noticed the knife due to it's focus on the young teen's fist, but mostly due to it's own over confidence and arrogance. No matter how weak a yoma was they didn't really fear much of anything outside of claymores. This was in part due to the horrifying reputation they'd acquired from their deeds and abilities, thus ensuring only lunatics wanting to fight them which never ended well. As a result only a claymore had the capability to pose a threat to them. Whatever the case however, let us simply say this yoma fucked up.

The yoma screamed in pain having not expected such an attack. Letting go of the boy's arm, the yoma tossed Raki away from itself to focus on the wound. Raki however ignored the pain from his own all be it mild injuries and raced out the back door. While he was amazed at how far he'd gotten given the circumstances, Raki knew he still wasn't out of the woods just yet. With that thought in mind Raki took off like a bat out of hell for the safest place he could think of, the town hall. While thankfully it wasn't too far away, normally Raki wouldn't have a hungry not to mention pissed off yoma coming after him.

He'd never run so fast in his life. His legs ached more than he'd thought they possibly could but he didn't dare stop. His lungs felt like they had burst into flame but he still didn't stop. To stop was to die in this situation, and painfully at that no less. 'Faster! Faster! Don't stop! Don't let him win!' the thoughts pounded through in Raki's head like a mantra, giving him the strength to keep going. Everything was now a blur, one street was no different than another though his body seemed to follow the fastest route to the town hall. Somehow he made it to the town square amazingly in one piece no less.

To the boy's terrible misfortune however it was at this point the adrenaline had worn off, and his exhaustion ended up hitting him like a sack full of bricks. He barely had the strength to make it to the well which he used to support his exhausted frame. A suddun blinding flash of light had him shielding his eyes with his arm, though briefly as he realized what it was. The morning sun, that meant he was safe right. There was no way the yoma would be foolish to come after him now in broad daylight.

"**There you are Raki! I was wondering where you'd run off to my little snack.**"

It was a statement which had Raki's heart sink like a stone in a lake. There entering the square from where he had was the yoma in all it's hideous and blood soaked glory. Seeing the boy's devastated face, the yoma grinned taking a rather sadistic pleasure in the Raki's hopeless expression as he started slowly advancing.

"**Ahh, how cute you actually thought you were safe. Hate to break it to you Raki but I'm leaving today what with the claymore and all. So it doesn't really matter to me whether I blow my cover or not.**"

Raki was devastated to put it lightly. He'd come face to face with a yoma in a small enclosed space at the age of thirteen. Not only had he not ended up dying, but he'd actually wounded it and then run a whole kilometer to escape. Everything had gone in his favor, and now he was going to die!?

'It's not fair. I don't want to die! Not here! Not like this! Somebody please!'

"SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE!"

Never let it be said that please wasn't a magic word. The yoma who had already run half the distance to Raki suddenly leapt to the side as it bit off a curse at something. While the boy wasn't complaining about the result, he was some what confused as to what had just happened until he saw the knives littering the cobble stones. While Raki was no expert in knives, or weapons of any kind for that matter, however the boy didn't need to be an expert as the diamond shaped blades were of a design clearly of a foreign nature.

"So that's what a yoma looks like huh? Seems Hargith wasn't kidding when he said you guys were nasty little critters"

Raki turned to look for the speaker, only to find him standing atop the cross beam of the well as his own eyes widened in surprise.

"Your that guy the mayor rescued the two days ago!"

If it weren't for the current situation Naruto probably would collapsed from embarrassment. While Konoha's toad sage didn't, Raki's statement still caused a rather noticeable twitching of his eye to occur. Something Raki picked up on rather quickly as a sheepish expression spread across his face.

"**Who the hell do you think you are to interrupt my breakfast!**"

Naruto shifted his focus back to the ginger haired yoma who clearly appeared to be irritated at being ignored. The former blonde picked up on that as he decided to exploit said irritation.

"Well that depends on you"

The yoma narrowed his eyes, glaring at the cloaked stranger. He didn't know why but something about this man seemed...out of place for lack of a better description. Choosing caution over recklessness however, the yoma decided to banter with the stranger to see how this turned out, as it asked what he meant.

Naruto raised his hands in the elbows bent and palms facing upward as he shrugged. "Well if you leave town right now I'll be your friend so long as we never meet again" And then Naruto grinned at the yoma, and not just any grin either. It was his trademark grin, the same one he generally had plastered across his face when he wanted to really piss his opponents off. "But if you don't, I'm gonna have to be your executioner." Sure enough the yoma ended up going from irritated to down right pissed off. Before the yoma could verbally express himself however he was stopped by the sound of a door slamming shut. It was at that point the creature noticed Raki/breakfast had escaped into the town hall, having taken the opportunity to escape unnoticed.

"**You bastard...**"

The expression on the shinobi's face became one of stunned horror. Naruto could feel the dark sickly twisted killing intent pouring from the yoma in front of him. He wasn't bothered by it one bit considering he'd dealt with far worse in his lifetime. No, what had affected him was the fact this creature was radiating with yoki (demon energy/chakra). While the creature's yoki levels were no where near even a tenth of what Shukaku possessed it was still a completely unexpected turn of events for the young sage.

The yoma on the other hand mistook the stranger's expression as being rooted in fear due to the frightening presence it was emitting. Admittedly it was one of the few skills all yoma seemed to possess and less known of even to most claymores. This was due to the fact that most yoma were already intimidating enough without it and as such most yoma rarely found a need to use it. In anycase however the yoma's expression of fury was replaced by one of sadistic pleasure as it went from a slow walk to a sudden all out bull rush.

"**I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO EAT YOU INSTEAD!**"

Naruto seemed to snap back to reality, leaping back from the crossbeam just as the yoma's fist crashed into one of the supporting beams making it burst in a shower of splinters. The yoma however refused to be denied a meal for the road and was quick to leap over the well after the cloak wearing stranger. Much to it's misfortune however this particular yoma had never really been involved in a true fight and as such it under estimated the abilities of it's opponent. As the two combatants were still in the air Naruto lashed out with a barrage of shuriken most of which hit the yoma but did little damage. As the two hit the ground Naruto leapt back choosing caution over a quick attack. While it wasn't really his style, it was for the best as this was a perfect opportunity to learn his enemy's capabilities, knowledge which could be applied to any future encounters.

Naruto smirked as the sound of pain filled curses reached his ears. The yoma had decided to pull the shuriken from his body only to find they were barbed. 'Gonna have to thank Tenten for those when I get back' His mirth was short lived however as the creature's wounds healed right before his eyes. The yoma seemed to notice this if it's comment of "**What now smart guy?**" was anything to go by. The yoma charged once more expecting to receive yet another barrage of thrown weapons. Which is why it was caught off guard when Naruto came running at him strange looking knife in hand, and at an equal speed no less, forcing the yoma into a series of awkward dodges. The yoma didn't understand why it was dodging a rather simple knife, but for some reason instinctively it knew that if this guy grabbed him that knife would be the end of him.

'**This guy can't be human! Nothing human fights like this! Wait, right there an opening!**'

And the yoma for once was right. It had seen an opening in Naruto's defense, and one that wasn't deliberate on the shinobi's part either. With little chance to change the course of the battle , the yoma took the opportunity presented to it. Naruto came in with a right handed swing of his kunai, only to have the yoma grab his wrist in its left hand. The creature pulled him towards it all the while reaching for his throat with the claws on its right hand. What happened next was something which would make any acrobat or warrior jealous. As the claws were just about to rip into the flesh of his neck, the shinobi shifted his body ever so slightly. As he did this he broke the death grip on his wrist, never once losing the extra momentum provided by the yoma which he used to his advantage. In an incredible display of foot work the shinobi pivoted on his front foot going into a spin similar to the Hyugga rotation as he hammered the kunai into the creature's spinal cord. Or at least that was the original intent of his maneuver.

To the albino's dismay his amazing feat of dexterity hadn't allowed him to escape the yoma entirely. As he had shift his body backward in the beginning, he hadn't moved fast enough due to his forward momentum. While he'd escaped physical harm the yoma had still managed to grab the clasp keeping his cloak connected. As a result his aim was thrown off due to the sudden shift in his balance resulting in only a minor cut being delivered instead of a severed spine. During this process the yoma had maintained a death grip on the clasp of Naruto's cloak, to prevent it's opponent from getting another opportunity. Utilizing the hold on the cloak the creature attempted to rip its claws down the shinobi's right arm in the hope of rendering it useless. Naruto had other ideas however as he decided now was a good time to get some distance and end this encounter. In the blink of an eye he used his kunai to cut the fabric of his cloak before leaping back from the creatures claws. Then as if the gods themselves were aiding the albino in his endeavors, a gust of wind came up causing the cloak to move and hide him from the yoma's sight.

"**AGH! JUST STAND STILL SO I CAN RIP YOU APART ALREADY!**"

In a clear show of frustration the yoma gripped the empty cloak in either hand tearing it in half...only to find no one there.

"**WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!**"

"I'm right behind you"

It was a simple statement but one nonetheless which filled the yoma with terror for some unknown reason. Ignoring the slowly growing sense of fear for a moment, the creature spun around claws at the ready as it prepared to charge the man only to falter. It was because the creature had just seen what his opponent's appearance for the first time.

Aside from some heavy leather boots the man was wearing a set of slightly torn and ripped pants with numerous pockets His upper body was for the most part, covered by a tattered and torn coat which at one point may have reached to the man's ankles. Given the state it was in however the torn and frayed strips of the cloak only reached to his knees. One sleeve was only hanging on by a few stubborn stitches while the other had been completely ripped off. Underneath the ruined garment the man's chest was wrapped in bandages which showed large dark stains in a few locations, whose origins were obvious to the observer. This however was ignored by the yoma in favor of two things which caused a wave of fear and confusion to fall upon the creature.

The first was the size of the man's blade. To say that the weapon was 'beastly' would have been an incredibly accurate statement in more ways than one. First there was the size of the weapon which happened to be as large if not slightly larger than it's owner. This proved to be a rather incredible testament to the man's incredible strength given how fast he'd been moving during this conflict. Any doubt that villagers who were secretly observing the battle through partially open doors, and gaps in window shutters, had of the man not standing a chance however quickly flew out the window given that he was wielding the blade casually with just one hand. The second reason for the weapons beastly description was the large well detailed, not to mention red nine tailed fox on the side of the blade.

Then there was the man's hair. A metal plate was tied to his forehead depicting a strange leaf insignia which helped to keep the man's unruly bangs out of his face. The top of the man's head consisted of a wild and seemingly untameable forest of spikes that branched off in every direction. Eventually it ended in a single braid reaching to the middle of the stranger's back. This however was only visible due to the fact that because of the recent breeze it was being tossed about in the breeze. Normally for a creature with a reputation such as a yoma, hair and a very large blade wouldn't be enough to put the so called fear of god into said creature. What had caused this reaction to occur in the yoma was the man's hair color. It was as white as freshly fallen and undisturbed snow. Only one particular group of people had white hair and carried blades that large.

"**Your a claymore...**"

Anything else that the yoma was going or may have wanted to say was cut off. After all it's generally difficult to keep speaking when you've just been split open from head to groin by a blade. As the blood sprayed into the air and pooled about the town square, silence reigned supreme. At least it would have if not for the people bursting out into the square to hoist a thoroughly surprised Naruto upon the shoulders as the cheered the dawn of their freedom on this glorious new day. As Raki and Hargith stared at the apparent male claymore the mayor just burst out into almost insane laughter as he smiled crying tears of joy for his people. He knew Naruto was going to do great things just not what at the time. After witnessing this however he no longer believed Naruto would do great things.

'No, that young man is going to shake the very world with his footsteps.'

Of that Hargith was now certain.


End file.
